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Post by pastlifepea on Jul 4, 2014 16:26:46 GMT
I don't think this has been addressed directly but has been referred to in some other threads but I am curious what everyone's thoughts are about the thousands of children coming to the US from Central America via Mexico. I am torn between the feelings of my heart and those in my brain. On one hand, I can totally see why they are coming here given the violence and poverty in their own countries. Their futures are bleak and they risk violence on a daily basis. On the other, I can't wrap my head around how our country will be able to support them, educate them, and treat all of the medical conditions they have. My understanding is that lice, scabies, and other communicable conditions are rampant. Who will raise these kids or will they wind up in the already over burdened US foster system? What kind of impact will this have on public schools that it seems are already woefully underfunded?
Interested to hear some of your opinions about this and what you all think should/could be done.
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Post by anonrefugee on Jul 4, 2014 17:00:51 GMT
Not replying here to political aspect- because I have no friggin way of warping my brain around it.
As a Mom it's heart breaking. How bad must life be to send you kid off to the unknown? Like the orphan trains of the past century?
How we can we let these kids, many who appear to be teen size, sit in these warehouses with a cot and a space blanket?
I hope smarter brains figure this one out FAST.
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raindancer
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Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 4, 2014 17:10:49 GMT
Not replying here to political aspect- because I have no friggin way of warping my brain around it. As a Mom it's heart breaking. How bad must life be to send you kid off to the unknown? Like the orphan trains of the past century? How we can we let these kids, many who appear to be teen size, sit in these warehouses with a cot and a space blanket? I hope smarter brains figure this one out FAST. I think part of the problem is that this is a Public Health and Humanity issue wrapped up in politics. It is difficult from the public health perspective because we are dealing with several different cultures, and children are especially sensitive to cultural norms. While they are also very adaptable, in this circumstance they are very likely going to hang on tight to their cultural identity as they have little else. So we have several different cultural and language barriers. That takes time if you want to do it right and be successful. So while it seems like nothing is happening or that it happens very slowly, it may not be slow but rather deliberate to make sure they are given good care that helps with their physical and mental well being. In addition we have little funding, and while I find that to be almost a joke (come on, Americans can throw millions at other causes, so there is no reason we can't look at this on it's face, set our differences aside and say "they are CHILDREN" and it is our responsibility as a wealthy country to make sure they are taken care of, even if we don't want to.)It's sort of like looking after a stray dog, you might not want it, you might be at your threshold for pets, but you have a responsibility to offer it a bowl of water on a hot day. It's humane. And we should do no less for children. It is complicated and intricate on one hand (like the dog scenario, maybe you can't afford to take it to a vet, and the nearest shelter is full) but on the other hand it is really very simple. You can't just let the dog die from dehydration, nor can you let children suffer in poor conditions, while the politician posture over who is "right" in the matter.
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 15:27:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 17:20:20 GMT
We had 6000 a year coming until about 2 years ago. We now have 60,000 a year coming. And that is increasing. Mexico's children aren't sent here because they are returned to Mexico. While I agree the kids need care w hile here I think the current policy of letting them stay is guaranteed to encourage more and more to come. Once they are 21 and older they can then sponsor other family still in country. The oncoming immigration wave is immense. With it will come the violence and hidden armies from those countries. By embracing the children we embrace all they are tryring to escape as well.
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 15:27:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 17:21:26 GMT
We had 6000 a year coming until about 2 years ago. We now have 60,000 a year coming. And that is increasing. Mexico's children aren't sent here because they are returned to Mexico. While I agree the kids need care w hile here I think the current policy of letting them stay is guaranteed to encourage more and more to come. Once they are 21 and older they can then sponsor other family still in country. The oncoming immigration wave is immense. With it will come the violence and hidden armies from those countries. By embracing the children we embrace all they are tryring to escape as well.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jul 4, 2014 18:04:11 GMT
We had 6000 a year coming until about 2 years ago. We now have 60,000 a year coming. And that is increasing. Mexico's children aren't sent here because they are returned to Mexico. While I agree the kids need care w hile here I think the current policy of letting them stay is guaranteed to encourage more and more to come. Once they are 21 and older they can then sponsor other family still in country. The oncoming immigration wave is immense. With it will come the violence and hidden armies from those countries. By embracing the children we embrace all they are tryring to escape as well. I completely agree with Volt.
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azredhead
Drama Llama
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Jun 25, 2014 22:49:18 GMT
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Post by azredhead on Jul 4, 2014 18:07:48 GMT
Raindancer- I totally agree with you on that.
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Thunder Rd
Shy Member
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Jun 26, 2014 6:46:36 GMT
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Post by Thunder Rd on Jul 4, 2014 18:14:32 GMT
Volt nailed it. I concur.
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Post by airforcemomof1 on Jul 4, 2014 18:22:54 GMT
I think someone needs to stop it and quickly. As far as this country being able to take care of them, we have our own elderly, hungry, unemployed, under employed, and those that still need health care that we are not really taking care of. Yes, I can't imagine sending a child alone to another country not knowing what will happen to them or who will take care of them but we can't solve everyone's problems. We are not doing so great at solving our own problems.
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raindancer
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Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 4, 2014 18:39:19 GMT
We had 6000 a year coming until about 2 years ago. We now have 60,000 a year coming. And that is increasing. Mexico's children aren't sent here because they are returned to Mexico. While I agree the kids need care w hile here I think the current policy of letting them stay is guaranteed to encourage more and more to come. Once they are 21 and older they can then sponsor other family still in country. The oncoming immigration wave is immense. With it will come the violence and hidden armies from those countries. By embracing the children we embrace all they are tryring to escape as well. Are we granting them all amnesty and letting them stay? (I should be, but have not been keeping up on this story, it's happening in my city, but I just am so burned out on this stuff right now I've tuned it out).
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raindancer
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Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 4, 2014 18:41:01 GMT
I think someone needs to stop it and quickly. As far as this country being able to take care of them, we have our own elderly, hungry, unemployed, under employed, and those that still need health care that we are not really taking care of. Yes, I can't imagine sending a child alone to another country not knowing what will happen to them or who will take care of them but we can't solve everyone's problems. We are not doing so great at solving our own problems. But comparatively we are doing a decent job (comparatively to developing nations, we are pretty behind other industrialized countries) and regardless of how well we allocate our funds, we are rich, rich, rich in this country. And as the children are in our country, it is our problem. And we are not doing much to solve it.
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Post by airforcemomof1 on Jul 4, 2014 18:58:40 GMT
I think someone needs to stop it and quickly. As far as this country being able to take care of them, we have our own elderly, hungry, unemployed, under employed, and those that still need health care that we are not really taking care of. Yes, I can't imagine sending a child alone to another country not knowing what will happen to them or who will take care of them but we can't solve everyone's problems. We are not doing so great at solving our own problems. But comparatively we are doing a decent job (comparatively to developing nations, we are pretty behind other industrialized countries) and regardless of how well we allocate our funds, we are rich, rich, rich in this country. And as the children are in our country, it is our problem. And we are not doing much to solve it. Yes, I agree that it is our responsibility to offer a humane solution of some sort to those already here. I don't know the answer and evidently those whose job it is to solve it don't have the answer either. But we can't continue to allow these numbers. I still firmly believe we should be taking care of U.S. citizens first. If we are rich enough to take care of unlimited immigrants, why are we still faced with homeless and hunger?
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RosieKat
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Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Jul 4, 2014 19:14:40 GMT
To those who think this is all politics, or people are choosing to let these kids sit around in a warehouse...
A huge part of the problems is simply the scale of this. Entire towns have basically been commandeered just to shelter these people. There is only so fast that the "processing" can take place. We don't have enough people working in medicine and social services to take care of them. You can't just POOF up housing and foster care for 10000+ kids. Yes, you give even a dog a bowl of water on a hot day, but to continue the metaphor, when 10,000 dogs show up, you can't just deliver instantly.
Texas better damn well hope we don't get hit by any natural disasters this year, as apparently all of our federal disaster dollars have already gone to help out with this crisis. (I can't give you a source, that's from my BFF who is a graduate student in international social work.) Even that bowl of water costs money, and we're out of it.
No, I don't have answers, and I don't mean to sound like I don't care about the situation or the people. I'm just pointing out some things not everyone has really thought of, and how even basic, humane treatment is not as simple as we'd like it to be in this horrific situation.
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raindancer
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Post by raindancer on Jul 4, 2014 19:34:08 GMT
To those who think this is all politics, or people are choosing to let these kids sit around in a warehouse... A huge part of the problems is simply the scale of this. Entire towns have basically been commandeered just to shelter these people. There is only so fast that the "processing" can take place. We don't have enough people working in medicine and social services to take care of them. You can't just POOF up housing and foster care for 10000+ kids. Yes, you give even a dog a bowl of water on a hot day, but to continue the metaphor, when 10,000 dogs show up, you can't just deliver instantly. Texas better damn well hope we don't get hit by any natural disasters this year, as apparently all of our federal disaster dollars have already gone to help out with this crisis. (I can't give you a source, that's from my BFF who is a graduate student in international social work.) Even that bowl of water costs money, and we're out of it. No, I don't have answers, and I don't mean to sound like I don't care about the situation or the people. I'm just pointing out some things not everyone has really thought of, and how even basic, humane treatment is not as simple as we'd like it to be in this horrific situation. I don't think anything can be done "fast" and that isn't my argument at all. And we are not out of money, that's nonsense. We are not allocated to spend money on this but it's there. This is where the politics is tangled up in it because the posturing gets in the way of reallocation of funds.
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RosieKat
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Posts: 5,538
Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Jul 4, 2014 19:47:49 GMT
I don't think anything can be done "fast" and that isn't my argument at all. And we are not out of money, that's nonsense. We are not allocated to spend money on this but it's there. This is where the politics is tangled up in it because the posturing gets in the way of reallocation of funds. I wasn't saying we are out of money. I was referring to the Federal Aid that is available, and as I said, this was something that was told to me. My source is reliable, but I can't swear that her source is accurate. Regardless, I know that we've spent an official gazillion dollars on this, and there is a limit to the gazillions at some point. I wasn't intending to criticize anyone, I was mostly just trying to point out the unfortunate aspect of the narrow opening in the pipeline we're working with. I think most of us will agree there's no good answer.
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scrappinmama
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Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Jul 4, 2014 20:20:04 GMT
I have no idea what the answer is. I'm torn between feeling sad for all those kids, but realizing that we can't just keep taking in more and more.
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lindas
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Jun 26, 2014 5:46:37 GMT
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Post by lindas on Jul 4, 2014 20:35:24 GMT
To those who think this is all politics, or people are choosing to let these kids sit around in a warehouse... A huge part of the problems is simply the scale of this. Entire towns have basically been commandeered just to shelter these people. There is only so fast that the "processing" can take place. We don't have enough people working in medicine and social services to take care of them. You can't just POOF up housing and foster care for 10000+ kids. Yes, you give even a dog a bowl of water on a hot day, but to continue the metaphor, when 10,000 dogs show up, you can't just deliver instantly. Texas better damn well hope we don't get hit by any natural disasters this year, as apparently all of our federal disaster dollars have already gone to help out with this crisis. (I can't give you a source, that's from my BFF who is a graduate student in international social work.) Even that bowl of water costs money, and we're out of it. No, I don't have answers, and I don't mean to sound like I don't care about the situation or the people. I'm just pointing out some things not everyone has really thought of, and how even basic, humane treatment is not as simple as we'd like it to be in this horrific situation. I don't think anything can be done "fast" and that isn't my argument at all. And we are not out of money, that's nonsense. We are not allocated to spend money on this but it's there. This is where the politics is tangled up in it because the posturing gets in the way of reallocation of funds. Maybe Obama should take that $2 billion he wants to provide lawyers for these children and put it to better use.
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Kath
Full Member
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Jun 26, 2014 12:15:31 GMT
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Post by Kath on Jul 4, 2014 20:44:57 GMT
The way I see it, if we have enough money to build weapons of war, we have enough money to take these kids in. It seems like we never have enough money for the humanity side of things, but always enough money to make killing machines. It's ridiculous.
On the other hand, I've read that many of these children are teen boys. Where exactly are they going to go when they become adults? Where are they going to get jobs? Are they going to take even more jobs from citizens of the United States who are desperately struggling? At what point does the system become overloaded and simply can no longer support the immigration levels anymore? What kind of crime levels are we looking at? Do the teens coming in share our same values of society or will they come in from violent society situations where killing and pain are all they've ever known and what they continue to perpetuate as adults? How many of them will we have to put in jail? How many of them will be victimized by our own people who are put in charge over them? How many of them will sue over that victimization in which the taxpayers will pay? What kind of diseases are they bringing in with them in large proportions and how will we deal with the outbreaks? How will our schools cope? How will our wages go up if there are so many willing to do work for so little? What other people are sliding into this country along with the mass influx of children? What sort of war are they waging against us?
Many troubling questions, and one has to wonder, at what point does our economy break under the enormous expense, since we're obviously not going to stop building war machines to pay for all these people coming into the country? There seems to be no limit to the money, that is true. As of September 30, 2012, The National Debt has continued to increase at an average of $2.41 billion per day. Can it go up indefinitely forever?
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 4, 2014 20:50:29 GMT
Perhaps we can both solve the problem of care and unemployment at the same time. There are a lot of us who are looking for work...maybe I can do something to help.
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suzastampin
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Jun 28, 2014 14:32:59 GMT
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Post by suzastampin on Jul 4, 2014 20:56:29 GMT
To those who think this is all politics, or people are choosing to let these kids sit around in a warehouse... A huge part of the problems is simply the scale of this. Entire towns have basically been commandeered just to shelter these people. There is only so fast that the "processing" can take place. We don't have enough people working in medicine and social services to take care of them. You can't just POOF up housing and foster care for 10000+ kids. Yes, you give even a dog a bowl of water on a hot day, but to continue the metaphor, when 10,000 dogs show up, you can't just deliver instantly. Texas better damn well hope we don't get hit by any natural disasters this year, as apparently all of our federal disaster dollars have already gone to help out with this crisis. (I can't give you a source, that's from my BFF who is a graduate student in international social work.) Even that bowl of water costs money, and we're out of it. No, I don't have answers, and I don't mean to sound like I don't care about the situation or the people. I'm just pointing out some things not everyone has really thought of, and how even basic, humane treatment is not as simple as we'd like it to be in this horrific situation. I don't have any answers either, but the US can not continue taking on the responsibility for all of these children. In one breath the government is wanting to give them amnesty, and in the next breath they want to revamp social security to those who have paid into the system. I know, two totally different issues, but we can not afford to take on all these children. I can't imagine how much money is being spent now to process and house these children. How about using all that money to secure the border with more border police. That would serve two problems...unemployed becoming employed as guards plus keep the children from coming across. I'm not trying to be hard hearted about all these children, but there are thousands (and probably millions) of children already in the US that were born here that are starving, needing dental care, etc. sometimes we have to take care of our own.
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Deleted
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Oct 6, 2024 15:27:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 21:23:09 GMT
As a mom, my heart breaks for these children. I know the situations they come from are awful, but now they're being used as pawns, IMO. Who made the decision to let this flood of illegal immigrants cross the border in the first place? Why has the situation been allowed to escalate at such an alarmingly fast rate? So we won't have any choice but to grant amnesty to them and their families. It's a humanitarian crisis made worse on purpose by people who have something to gain from it.
Bottom line, the border should have already been made secure. The current administration has been lax about enforcing the laws, and now we're seeing the results.
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Post by hop2 on Jul 4, 2014 21:25:23 GMT
(comparatively to developing nations, we are pretty behind other industrialized countries) I dont know last year in London and Paris we saw tons of homeless people. In fact in Paris I probably saw more homeless people and more homeless families than I have ever seen before in my life collectively ( and I used to spend my summers with a friend on Houston st NYC and travel the Bowery area ) not sure what the deal was but it looked pretty bad there last summer. I spent a great deal of time praying over it. I do not think we are equipped to take in and care for 60,000 kids. And it will take congress to long to come to terms with what needs to be done to appropriately care for them. It crazy for anyone in any country to think they'd be safe and cared for here. I hit enter too soon. Non governmental groups are going to have to step forward to help, the bureaucracy in the government will take too long, they could starve before a decision was made.
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Post by peasapie on Jul 4, 2014 21:30:35 GMT
The solution is diplomatic. We have to work with the Mexican government to find a safe way to send them back to their own country. That's the only way I can see to stem this tide. And the world needs to address the humanitarian crisis that exists and is causing this to occur. There's a big elephant in the room.
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Post by monicad on Jul 4, 2014 21:35:25 GMT
I have no idea what the answer is. I'm torn between feeling sad for all those kids, but realizing that we can't just keep taking in more and more. I agree. Money and politics aside, these are human beings and as a parent I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I was in their position. It's easy for those of us that come from a life of comfort to say it's not our problem--just send them back or prevent them from coming here altogether. I think the argument that we have our own issues here that need to be resolved is a good one, yet how can we ignore what is happening to these children? I know I would have to be desperate in order to leave my children behind in a country full of violence to come to the US in the hopes that I could at some point send for them. I'm sure some of these parents have spent years making a meager living, and then send that money to someone with the hope that they'll be reunited with their children. What a horrible position to be in. I've spent my parenting years volunteering in my kids' schools, cheering them on at soccer games, and throwing birthday parties. I'm lucky, and I feel so much for the parents that don't get to experience those things. Raising your children in a safe and loving environment shouldn't be a luxury. I don't know what the answer is, but this whole thing just makes me so sad.
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Post by wonderwoman on Jul 4, 2014 22:30:30 GMT
Well said Monicad you took the words right out of my heart~
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jul 4, 2014 22:59:04 GMT
As someone else mentioned, a LOT of these are not little kids they are teenage boys. They are sent with a script to say. Copies of the script have been found at the borders. A congressman from Oklahoma was denied entrance into a detention center in his district. He was told to come back in 3 weeks I believe. Just what is it they are trying to hide?Congressman denied access
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 23:02:48 GMT
We had 6000 a year coming until about 2 years ago. We now have 60,000 a year coming. And that is increasing. Mexico's children aren't sent here because they are returned to Mexico. While I agree the kids need care w hile here I think the current policy of letting them stay is guaranteed to encourage more and more to come. Once they are 21 and older they can then sponsor other family still in country. The oncoming immigration wave is immense. With it will come the violence and hidden armies from those countries. By embracing the children we embrace all they are tryring to escape as well. Are we granting them all amnesty and letting them stay? (I should be, but have not been keeping up on this story, it's happening in my city, but I just am so burned out on this stuff right now I've tuned it out). Those from all countries except Mexico are granted amnesty as long as they are under 18. Which is encouraging parents to send under aged kids alone. If they come with adults they aren't automatically granted amnesty. Human traffic-ers are a booming business in these countries by charging families exhorbinate amounts to "safely" see the kids to the border. On the trip the kids are also sold into sexual activities. In the meantime their home countries are losing a generation of young adults who won't be around to support those countries aging population.
Once they are here they are too far behind in their English skills to be sent to most American public schools so their education comes to a halt and they hit adult hood wit no education, low literacy/language skills in English and aren't hireable as adults.
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Post by leftturnonly on Jul 4, 2014 23:10:19 GMT
I don't think this has been addressed directly but has been referred to in some other threads but I am curious what everyone's thoughts are about the thousands of children coming to the US from Central America via Mexico. I am torn between the feelings of my heart and those in my brain. On one hand, I can totally see why they are coming here given the violence and poverty in their own countries. Their futures are bleak and they risk violence on a daily basis. On the other, I can't wrap my head around how our country will be able to support them, educate them, and treat all of the medical conditions they have. My understanding is that lice, scabies, and other communicable conditions are rampant. Who will raise these kids or will they wind up in the already over burdened US foster system? What kind of impact will this have on public schools that it seems are already woefully underfunded? Interested to hear some of your opinions about this and what you all think should/could be done. Parents who are pushed to this point have my utmost sympathy. I can not in any way, shape or form begin to imagine what conditions must exist to create this. At the same time, you can't help anyone until you help yourself. If a plane has a sudden depressurization, you grab for your own oxygen mask before you put the one on the person next to you. This is what our political leaders have forgotten. We have some truly serious problems within, and until the men and women who risk their lives for us are treated better than every Tom, Dick & Little Harry that stroll over our border, I have to side with shutting the border tight so this doesn't continue.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 23:19:57 GMT
My family lives in the community with one of the military bases taking it kids. There will be up to 1200 kids housed here at a cost of $250 per day. They are in old open bay barracks (50-100 kids per room) It is requiring the importation of vetted people to stand watch, clean up after them, cook for them. They are only supposed to be here 30-45 days but the reality is most will be here longer because there isn't the ability to find other places for them to go fast enough and those coming in are arriving at a faster rate than the ones that are leaving. Child protective services can't just turn them over to anyone who says they are willing to sponsor a child. There must be background checks, home health checks etc first so they aren't giving the kids to pediphiles.
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Post by leftturnonly on Jul 4, 2014 23:21:26 GMT
My family lives in the community with one of the military bases taking it kids. There will be up to 1200 kids housed here at a cost of $250 per day. They are in old open bay barracks (50-100 kids per room) It is requiring the importation of vetted people to stand watch, clean up after them, cook for them. They are only supposed to be here 30-45 days but the reality is most will be here longer because there isn't the ability to find other places for them to go fast enough and those coming in are arriving at a faster rate than the ones that are leaving. Child protective services can't just turn them over to anyone who says they are willing to sponsor a child. There must be background checks, home health checks etc first so they aren't giving the kids to pediphiles. That isn't a problem, according to Nancy Pelosi. None of this is a problem.
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